Glossary Of Kitchen Slang Used By Chefs

If you are just starting out your career in the culinary arts in a commercial kitchen, then you must certainly be proud to be wearing your fancy tailored kitchen shirts and hats, and looking forward to the day when you can make the transition into one of those all-hallowed chef whites or fancy chef coats and the toque. It is a long journey though from the time you start culinary school, become an apprentice, and work your way to the top of the kitchen hierarchy.

When starting work in a commercial kitchen, one of the first things you should make yourself familiar with is the kitchen jargon (or slang) used by chefs, because without knowing this you won’t be able to understand your instructions or what is happening around you, making your work even more difficult than it already is.

Here are some important terms that you should know to make your way in a commercial kitchen.

• A La Minute – This is a French term translated to “on the minute”, and means that the food is freshly prepared, and not part of a large batch that had been prepared earlier in the day.
• All Day – This is a term used to describe the total number of orders of a certain dish, when combining all the order tickets issued.
• Behind – A kitchen is a very crowded place with many people running around. This term is generally used when you are passing behind another person, in order to prevent a collision.
• Chit – This is another name used for the Order Ticket.
• Covers – The number of people being seated or served in the dining area.
• Dead Plate – This term is used to describe a dish that cannot be served because it was either prepared incorrectly or the customer has sent it back. Cook and kitchen staff usually eat off of dead plates.
• Dying on the Pass – When a dish has been kept on the window for too long and will soon become unfit to serve is known as one that is dying on the pass.
• Deuce – A table at a restaurant that seats only two people.
• Fire – Firing is when servers enter a table’s order into the POS system and send it to the kitchen. Firing too may orders at once is considered to be bad etiquette on the part of the server.
• Flash – When a dish needs to be reheated really quick the chefs flash it in the char boiler on high heat. This is necessary if the dish seems under cooked or has been waiting too long on the window.
• Floor – The floor is what the dining room is referred to as in the jargon of restaurants and chefs.
• Heard – This is how kitchen staff will respond to a chef to indicate that they have understood their orders from him.
• In the Weeds – This means that a person in the kitchen is very busy and is not able to keep up with their work.
• Kill It – To overcook something in the kitchen is to kill it, such as when it comes to steak or chicken.
• Low Boy – Low Boy is another name given for under-counter refrigerators.
• Mise – This is a shortened form of the phrase Mise-en-place, meaning “everything in its place”.
• On the Fly – When a dish is required on the fly, it means that they need it in double quick time.
• On the Line – This refers to an area behind the kitchen window where the chefs do their cooking, and will include a workspace and the equipment they need to cook.
• Pass – The pass in the area in front of the line where the cooked dishes are kept for the servers to pick them up.
• The Rail – This is a special line above the window where the order tickets are placed by the servers, and they can be easily read by the kitchen staff.
• Run the Dish – To run the dish means to deliver a specific dish to the table.
• Running the Pass – In every kitchen there is one staff member in the kitchen who is responsible for calling out the order tickets and ensuring that they are completed. This is called running the pass.
• SOS – The term SOS in used to mean Sauce on the Side.
• Stretch It – A term used when they need to make ingredients last as long as possible.
• Waxing a Table – When someone is waxing a table, it means that they are providing special treatment for that table.
• Two Top, Three Top etc – This term is used to refer to the number of people that can be seated at each table, whether two or three or four or five etc.
• 86 – An item is referred to as being 86ed when the kitchen has run out of it and are not able to make it anymore. During such a time it is important to inform this to the servers so that they can refrain from taking orders for it.

As you can see there is a lot to learn if you are just starting out in the culinary world, and it is best to learn these early so that you know what is going on in the kitchen and what instructions are being given to you by your Head Chef.